Tekken: Kazuya's Revenge

We do not blame you if you can't quite remember anything about the first 'Tekken' movie; like many of its ilk, it was a forgettable attempt at translating the Namco video game for the big screen. Given how cold a reception it had gotten, it's no surprise that this sequel is arriving with so little fanfare, given a theatrical release in some territories and dropped straight to video in many others. Not to worry though, if you haven't caught the first movie, this is an in-name only sequel, and in fact is meant as a prequel to its predecessor.

Whereas the earlier film chose Jin Kazama as its protagonist, this one makes Kazuya Mishima its lead character. Fans of the game will know that Kazuya was only a good guy for the first instalment, thereafter turning into one of its main antagonists from the second one onwards. Fans will also know that Kazuya is in fact the son of Heihachi Mishima, the head honcho behind the infamous Iron Fist tournament of Tekken City where fighters from the eight mega-corporations ruling the world battle it out for survival and glory – and for those who are interested, the only continuity 'Tekken 2' has with the earlier film is that Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa returns, albeit for no more than a glorified cameo, as Heihachi.

This is a story which ultimately culminates in Kazuya learning that he is the son of Heihachi, but before we get to that big reveal, writers Nicole Jones and Steven Paul introduce us to Kazuya as a man with superb fighting skills who wakes up one morning in a room not knowing who he is or where he comes from. As he tries to escape from a gang of heavily- armed militia, he is knocked unconscious and brought before a questionable character known as the Minister (Rade Serbedzija). Though he says that he is running a reformation school for 'sinners', the Minister turns out to be no saint himself, wanting Kazuya only to do his bidding by acting as his assassin for hire.

Long story short (because there isn't much plot to begin with anyways), Kazuya discovers that the Minister isn't the man he says himself to be thanks to a former compatriot named Bryan Fury (Gary Daniels) who defected from the Minister's ranks and whom Kazuya was sent to kill. His only ally? Rhona Anders (Kelly Wenham), a British chick who tries to emote very hard in order to project a sense of conscience. Rhona who? Yeah, you're right. She isn't in the Tekken universe to begin with, nor for that matter is the Minister. There is a more interesting backstory here about how the film began as a project known as 'Agent X', and was only revealed later on as a Tekken prequel – hence the blatant use of character names which don't even belong to 'Tekken'.

But perhaps the most disappointing element about 'Tekken 2' is that the action just doesn't cut it. Unlike 'Tekken', this origin story for Kazuya doesn't boast of any grand tournament to speak of, relegating the fights instead to the first act where he is made to show off his fighting skills in the Minister's training camp and in the third and last act where he confronts Bryan and later on comes face to face with his estranged father Heihachi. Unfortunately, the choreography is utterly disappointing for a movie which should thrive on its mano-a-mano fighting; there is no distinction in Kazuya's technique and for that matter between any of the fights to make them stand out against each other.

What we get is a series of poorly edited shots (thankfully not shot in the jerky close-up style) stitched together with little sense of continuity between them. That is even more upsetting for fans of Kane Kosugi, whose role in 'Tekken 2' marks the first leading man break for the talented American martial artist of Japanese descent. Kosugi executes some beautiful moves, but they are lost amidst the unremarkable choreography and some dismal editing. It suffices to say that neither Kazuya nor his opponents get to express any sort of personality through their moves, and as a result none of the fights are actually memorable.

The title alone may draw those who have played the game before and may be excited to see a real-life incarnation of their avatars, but not even nostalgia can rescue this abysmal martial arts-based movie which only bears the 'Tekken' name for familiarity and to ring up more coin. Indeed, 'Tekken 2' is an embarrassment to the 'Tekken' franchise and an outrage to fans of the game, so you'll be wise to avoid it whether in theatres or on home video.

The fact that TEKKEN was not a perfect movie isn't shocking, but it is surprising how significantly worse its successor is. Director Wych Kaos is not exactly known for making great films and his video game movie does not bolster his reputation. KAZUYA'S REVENGE is not so much an adaptation as a lazy spin off, and though it does some things very well, its deficiencies are overwhelming and make this an unenjoyable outing for all but niche viewers.

The story: Haunted by confusing memories, an amnesiac martial artist (Kane Kosugi) is kidnapped by a crime organization and turned into an assassin.

The best thing that can be said about this movie is that Kane Kosugi is, at least, a much more apt choice for the lead role than Ian Anthony Dale was before him. A stellar performer just coming off one of the best fight scenes of the decade in NINJA II, Kosugi does what he does best in delivering fights that range from endurable to pretty good. The low number of characters from the series limits the dream matchups this one can present (and the one it does give us – Kosugi versus Gary "Bryan Fury" Daniels – is rubbish), but Kane manages some respectable bouts with genre regulars Ron Smoorenburg, Eoin O'Brien, and Brahim Achabbakhe. Karate fans won't be completely bored.

Normally, my satisfaction for that regard would garner at least an average rating, but the movie is a metaphor for how a table cannot stand on only one leg. Aside from the fact that the plot in no way resembles the TEKKEN series and would probably make more sense without the label, the screenplay of KAZUYA'S REVENGE appears to have been written with a license to pad and instructions to only tell a fractional story... Many scenes are given over to time-killing flashbacks and montages of Kazuya aimlessly wandering around. The motivations of and relationships between characters are frustratingly enigmatic. Several times, Kazuya will enter a new locale, and with some unclear understanding known only to the characters, he will engage in an unprompted and unexplained fight scene. The movie ends without any resolution, clearly teasing another sequel that I hope will not see production – at least not under the same director.

The upcoming reboot – THE KING OF THE IRON FIST TOURNAMENT - will constitute the third TEKKEN-inspired feature within a decade, and the fact that fans are a lot less happy about this than you'd assume says a lot about the missed opportunities of the series as a film franchise. The creative decisions this particular one makes are genuinely frustrating, and sends the impression that not only did the producers not care about representing the characters, they did not even care about telling a coherent story. Perhaps the politics of direct-to-video filmmaking are to blame, but no one ought feel compelled to sit through this.

was excited for this movie. I liked the first one, even if the story was shallow, just because I loved Tekken the game... but Tekken 2 was no way Tekken, not even close. I don't know what they were thinking about when they did the film, there was just no value to it... too slow, fight scenes were terrible... and "ruthless" assassin was not really the case... it was just awful and I can't find anything positive to say about the film except when it ended which I thanked the high heaven because I could finally breath. it was terrible, did I say that? it was like when sloppy writing meets terrible research, you get Tekken 2... it was so awful it was so agonizing to watch. there was really no Tekken to it,

As a player of the game Tekken from the introduction of the very first game I was excited as all get out when I saw the first Tekken movie which was animated. After feeling like my hard earned money was wasted I still had faith in the people who would make a great Tekken movie. I believed that SOMEONE would do this game the honor it deserves and produce a great film adaptation. I saw Gary Daniels connected to the film and having loved his work for years as a big screen martial artist I had reasonably high hopes for this film to at least be bearable. This movie was not. I applaud the success of those who were able to bring their vision to life, but this was really really bad.

As in: Maybe they should stop making Tekken movies and just concentrate on the games. Though I have to admit, I didn't connect this with the games at any point. Which is either a good thing (making it a unique story) or a bad thing (going too far away from the source material). Whatever the case, it's the viewer who has the last word on it. And some might wish they had amnesia after watching this.

Seriously though: The fighting is pretty decent, though you do wonder how they get some people involved in movies like this. I guess everyone needs money after all. Gary Daniels makes more sense I reckon though, but the movie/script might have sounded better than the finished product after all. Because there are a few nice touches/ideas that almost shine through, but never seem to really capture the viewer ... there are worse movies out there, but there are far better ones too.